This invention relates to a portable cooler construction and more particularly to an improved portable cooler construction embodying article receiving cavities formed in its side walls.
The use of portable cooler assemblies is well known. Such devices normally include a body portion that defines an internal cavity in which food articles such as bottles, cans, ice or other similar materials may be contained. The cavity normally opens through the upper end of the main body portion and some type of lid arrangement is employed for opening and closing the access to the cavity. Although such devices have a wide variety of utility and application, they basically require all of the articles to be stored at the same temperature. Although removable trays have been proposed for insertion into the cavity to provide an area where articles may be stored at a somewhat different temperature, the temperature gradient is not particularly significant between the area in the tray and the main area in the cooler.
In addition to food articles, portable coolers are frequently used to carry non-food items such as the user's personal belongings. Coolers are frequently used at locations such as the beach where the user may wish to carry other articles such as sunglasses, suntan oil, keys, cigarettes, wallets and the like and which are not conveniently carried on the person. Frequently, the user will place these articles in the tray of the cooler. This means that the cooler is opened each time that one of these articles is sought or placed and the temperature holding qualities of the cooler are seriously reduced. In addition, there is the likelihood that these non-food articles may become wet if placed in the cooler and, therefore, such in the cooler storage with coolers of the type previously proposed has not been particularly advantageous.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved cooler construction that embodies a plurality of article receiving cavities.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved cooler assembly that permits the accommodation of a wide variety of articles which may be stored at different temperatures.
Although devices have been proposed for providing portable food receiving articles with a plurality of separate containers, such devices have been somewhat awkward in appearance and have given the impression of having a "tacked on" configuration.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved portable cooler assembly having an integrated configuration and yet providing a plurality of article receiving cavities.